Welcome to Charlotte Athletics! This section is intended to inform prospective student-athletes as they prepare for intercollegiate athletics. In order to ensure the success of prospective student-athletes during the recruiting process, it is important to understand the current NCAA rules and regulations of Division I athletics. If you have any questions, please contact the Charlotte Compliance Staff.

Am I a prospective student-athlete?You are a prospective student-athlete if you are a high school student who has begun the ninth grade, regardless of whether you participate in athletics. In addition, you are considered a prospective student-athlete if an institution provided you or your family financial assistance or any other benefit that is not offered to other prospective student-athletes.

A prospect remains a prospect until one of the following occur:

The individual registers and enrolls in a minimum full-time program of studies and attends classes in any term of a four-year collegiate institution's regular academic year;

The individual participates in a regular squad practice or competition at a four-year collegiate institution that occurs before the beginning of any term; or

The individual officially registers and enrolls and attends classes during the summer prior to initial enrollment and receives institutional athletics aid.

Once you are enrolled and attending class as a four-year institution, you would have to follow the rules for transfer students.

I want to be a collegiate athlete, what next? Students should register with the NCAA Eligibility Center at the beginning of their junior year in high school. The NCAA Eligibility Center will certify the academic and amateur credentials of all college-bound student-athletes who wish to compete in NCAA Division I or II athletics. You may register online at www.EligibilityCenter.org. At the end of the student's junior year, a transcript, including six semesters of grades, should be sent to the Eligibility Center from the high school. Additionally, students should have their SAT or ACT scores forwarded directly to the Eligibility Center (by using code "9999") whenever they take the exam.

May I talk to coaches? Phone calls to a prospect from a coach (but not boosters) are permitted beginning July 1 (Exception for Football) after the completion of their junior year. A college coach or faculty member is limited to one telephone call per week to a prospective student-athlete (or their parents or legal guardians). Please note that coaches are NOT allowed to return a prospect's call until after July 1 (Exception for Basketball and Football) prior to their senior year in high school. However, a prospective student-athlete may call the coach at their own expense at anytime.

A coach may not write or email until September 1 of the prospective student-athlete's junior year in high school, a prospect may write them at anytime.

It is important to note that a booster, former athlete or alumni may not solicit a prospective student-athletes enrollment in any manner (no phone calls, letters or in-person encounters).

Am I eligible to compete at the collegiate level?

New Academic Standards for Division I Athletes:

Student-athletes who achieve the current minimum initial-eligibility standard on the test score-grade-point average sliding scale with at least a minimum 2.0 core-course GPA would continue to be eligible for athletically related financial aid during the first year of enrollment and practice during the first regular academic term of enrollment. Student-athletes could earn the second term of enrollment for practice by passing nine semester or eight quarter hours.

The adopted proposal increases the standard for immediate access to competition to at least a 2.3 GPA and an increased sliding scale. Specifically, incoming student-athletes would need to earn a half-point higher GPA for a given test score compared to the current standard. For example, an SAT score of 1,000 would require a 2.5 high school core-course GPA for competition and a 2.0 high school core-course GPA for aid and practice.

It will be required that prospects successfully complete 10 of the 16 total required core courses before the start of their senior year in high school. Seven of the 10 courses must be successfully completed in English, math and science.

I am ready to commit, what next? The final step in becoming a student-athlete is to sign the National Letter of Intent and Athletics Grant-in-Aid that is offered by the coach. The NLI is a binding agreement between a prospective student-athlete and an institution in which the institution agrees to provide a prospective student-athlete athletics aid for one academic year in exchange for the prospective student-athlete's agreement to attend the institution for one academic year. Prospective student-athletes (or their family) may not receive any benefit, inducement or arrangement such as cash, clothing, cars, improper expenses, transportation, gifts or loans to encourage the signing of a National Letter of Intent or to attend an NCAA school.

For more information regarding NCAA rules and regulations feel free to contact us below:

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